SURVIVE LOAD SHEDDING (EWN)

Load shedding. Power cuts. Rolling blackouts.

Call them what you will, they’re a reality and Eskom has warned they’re here to stay for most of 2015.

Load shedding is about Eskom balancing the power scales; it needs to be able to supply enough electricity to meet the country’s demands. When supply matches demand, everything is fine. But when the country needs more power than Eskom can generate, either because of an increase in demand or a drop in supply, then we’re in trouble.

If the country’s demand outstrips the amount of electricity that Eskom can supply, power stations start taking some serious strain and the system can be badly damaged. That, in turn, can lead to a national blackout – a truly worst case scenario.